Taiwan’s Chen relieved to claim eighth win of season

Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher Chen Wei-yin winds up against the Minnesota Twins in the first inning of their American League game in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Thursday.

Photo: Reuters

AMERICAN LEAGUE

It took him six starts, but Taiwan’s Chen Wei-yin (陳偉殷) finally got his eighth win of his rookie season with the Baltimore Orioles on Thursday with a strong seven-inning outing.

The win tied the record for wins by a Taiwanese rookie in the major leagues held by Wang Chien-ming (王建民) at eight, though the comparison may not be totally fair. Wang had never pitched in a top-flight professional league before going 8-5 for the New York Yankees in 2005, while Chen was one of the top pitchers for the Chunichi Dragons in Japan’s professional league for four years before signing with Baltimore earlier this year.

Chen allowed three earned runs on six hits and a walk, striking out five over seven innings in the Orioles’ 4-3 win over the Minnesota Twins, improving his record to 8-5.

The 26-year-old was relieved to finally get his first win since June 17 and also happy to make it deep into the game, which was one of his points of emphasis for the second half of the season.

“Every game is important to me, because I’m a rookie and this is my first year. It’s all about getting experience. I want to help the team win, that’s really important for me,” Chen said through interpreter Tim Lin, according to the Baltimore Sun. “Today, I’m very excited I could help the team win.”

After yielding two runs in the first inning, Chen allowed just three hits over the next six innings. He threw a total of 108 pitches, 69 for strikes.